New Zealanders can now state on their Facebook profiles that they want to be organ donors.
The initiative begins on today.
Anyone who wishes to be an organ donor can do so by creating a life event on their timeline, and if they want can share why they decided to be a donor.
"This allows people to share this important information with their family and friends and increase awareness and conversations around organ donation," Facebook's Australia and New Zealand communications and policy manager Mia Garlick told NZ Newswire.
Ms Garlick says donations of a kidney, heart or liver can be life savers and the Facebook posting can help make people aware at the time of someone's death what their intention was about organ donation.
"We've just been amazed at how very small acts of sharing can contribute in a positive way to broader social issues and medical research tells us that broader awareness around organ donations can contribute to an increase in organ donation rates," she said.
"Families will often be asked for consent to an organ donation occurring and most of the time what the family wants to know is what the deceased's wishes were, and by starting these conversations between family and friends we're hoping that it will help inform family consent."
The move follows similar schemes in the US, Britain and Australia and comes with the approval of the Ministry of Health and Organ Donation New Zealand, Ms Garlick said.
NZN